CELLBANK AUSTRALIA'S NEWSLETTER

Cell-based Research

Human Mesothelioma Research: Murine AB Cells

 
Researchers have described the molecular, cellular and morphological characterization of a syngeneic system consisting of murine AB1, AB12 and AB22 mesothelioma cells injected in immunocompetent BALB/c mice, which allows the study of the interplay of tumor cells with the immune system. Their article, titled "Human malignant mesothelioma is recapitulated in immunocompetent BALB/c mice injected with murine AB cells," was published online in the journal Scientific Reports on 10 March 2016. Here the authors advocate the use of immunocompetent mice injected with AB cells (and in particular AB1 cells) as a preclinical experimental system for the study of malignant mesothelioma development and treatment.

The murine malignant mesothelioma AB1, AB12 and AB22 cell lines used in the study were obtained from CellBank Australia.

Corresponding authors, Drs Bianchi and Crippa, told me that: "We were surprised to see how similar to human mesothelioma the tumors produced by AB cells were. We plan to use this system to investigate the interplay between the adaptive immune system and mesothelioma cells, and in particular to see if drugs that target checkpoint inhibitors can be useful for mesothelioma patients."

To read the article, click here.

Colon Cancer Research: Tankyrase Inhibitor Insight

Tankyrase inhibitor (TNKSi) treatment of APC-mutant SW480 colorectal cancer cells can induce axin puncta which act as sites for assembly of β-catenin degradation complexes. This process however is poorly understood. Using this model system, researchers have found that siRNA knockdown of tankyrases (TNKSs) 1 and 2 actually blocked the ability of TNKSi drugs to induce axin puncta, revealing that puncta formation requires both the expression and the inactivation of TNKS. Their article, titled "Tankyrase Inhibitors Stimulate the Ability of Tankyrases to Bind Axin and Drive Assembly of β-Catenin Degradation-Competent Axin Puncta," was published in the journal PLOS One on 1 March 2016.

The human SW480 colorectal cancer cells used in the study were supplied by the European Collection of Authenticated Cell Cultures (ECACC; Porton Down, Salisbury, UK) and obtained from CellBank Australia.

The study was supported by a Career Development Fellowship grant from the Cancer Institute New South Wales (CI NSW; Sydney, NSW, AU) and bridging grants from The Westmead Institute of Medical Research (WI; Westmead, NSW, AU).

Corresponding author, Associate Professor Beric Henderson, told me that the use of TNKSi as potential anti-colorectal cancer agents is one of the most recent and promising strategies targeting the Wnt-signalling pathway as a means to combat cancer.

"This paper came about quite by accident when the lead post-doctoral investigator, Dr Estefania Martino-Echarri, was studying the 'puncta' degradation sites for the beta-catenin protein. While examining the core puncta component, axin, she found that tankyrase inhibitors actually stimulated binding of axin to tankyrases 1 and 2. The study provides a new piece of the puzzle in working out the molecular basis for how these small molecule TNKSi actually work."

To read the article, click here.

Paracoccidioidomycosis Research: Superoxide Dismutases Study

Researchers have used a human lung epithelial cell line (A549) and mouse alveolar macrophages transformed with SV40 (MH-S cell line) in the first study on the superoxide dismutases (SOD) family, the largest antioxidant gene family identified so far in the Paracoccidioides genus. Both cell lines were obtained from ECACC. To read the 10 March 2016 PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases article, click here.